Taking the Long Way

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Monthly Archives: October 2016

If there ever were a time to gain confidence in a boat, or to get the wits scared out of you, it would be during a gale. Gales might spring up, like an uninvited guest, along a passage after the best possible forecast has been cautiously selected. That is not the case, however, when departure for a passage…

We set a play date with friends in Devon, England and set sail; 73 nautical miles east along England’s coastline (yup, going the wrong way yet again). We had a fabulous, downwind sail on a sunny day fortunately with the current in our favor (planned) and picked up a blue, guest mooring that evening as the sun…

The Irish Sea blessed us with a fabulous forecast, light north wind, on which we motor-sailed 382 uneventful, nautical miles from Belfast, Northern Ireland. Detour rocketed downwind, 10-knots on the speedometer with a 4-knot current in our favor; then 6-hours later at the change of the tide we cursed that dang current for slowing us to a…

I’d like to thank Mark, who has done a fabulous job to captivate this audience with Scottish lore! Meanwhile, behind the scenes… Brian and I have sailed Detour 1,374nm south from Glasgow; even at sailing pace, the scenery has changed so rapidly for us that some days it seems we’ve been plucked from the ground and…

I am not a blue water sailor and am rather apprehensive of the water, so in many ways, a trip on a canal and among islands with abundant sea and bird life is just about right for me. And indeed it was — there were so many things to see, and Steph and Brian were…

After departing the Crinan Canal, we had a relatively short distance to travel to the heart of Glasgow. But timing was very important; we would be traveling many miles up the River Clyde into Glasgow and the tide affects the flow for the entire distance. No reason to motor against the tide if not necessary.…

*** Thanks to our Admin, Mark, for sharing his (and Detour’s) experience on the Crinan Canal; fortunately they all made it through without me! *** The most interesting thing about the Crinan Canal is that you operate the locks yourself as you travel through. The Crinan Canal was originally built a few years earlier than the…

The longest day of the entire trip: 88 miles and close to 13 hours. We departed at 6:51 and arrived at 19:38. We passed islands, and vistas, small towns and famous sights, whales and dolphins and birds, and a maelstrom. Route Map The day before, the weather here would have been unpleasant – today it…

We began this journey with a day of firsts; appropriate on the first day of September. Our first sail without Stephanie, who was back in the USA and would not return until the same day Bruce & I were scheduled to depart. Also, Detour’s first sail without Stephanie aboard. Finally, my first time back on salt water…

**Thanks to our Admin, Mark, for letting us know how the boys play while Stephanie is away!** Stephanie had an early morning flight back to the USA that required getting up at O’dark-hundred, better known as 4 a.m., in order to drive to the Glasgow airport and arrive with plenty of time. Fortified with coffee…